Conversations on Spain 7: William Chislett

Podcast: Mr. Chislett first came to Spain as a correspondent for The Times.

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Episode 7: William Chislett

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Our guest this week is William Chislett (Twitter), who first came to Spain as a correspondent for The Times in the 1970s and who now works with the Elcano Royal Institute. We talk about:

Andalusia elections, 12 seats for Vox “from nowhere”, PSOE losses, demise of Susana Díaz, change of power after 40 years of socialist rule, coalition horse trading (PP-Cs-Vox, Cs-PP-PSOE), Spain’s lack of coalition governments at the national level, labels for Vox (far-right, fascist, alt-right, national populist), should Sánchez call an early general election now or wait?

Spain since the Transition, “another planet”, “completely unrecognisable”, 40-year cycles, the Constitution, dictatorship to democracy, economic underpinnings, autarky to an open market economy, historical memory, population, health and well-being, institutional stability, what worked in the 1970s that is missing today, what would happen if King Felipe were run over by a bus?

Economic factors, the creation of the middle class, income inequality, the Spanish economic miracle, Spanish middle class created in Franco era, aspirations vs. reality, political gridlock, rise of populist parties and economics, life expectancy, population improvements, ageing, dependency and future pension problems, unemployment, education levels and school drop-out rates, temporary contracts, construction vs. tourism, tourism risks as North Africa ticks up again, ideas for change, lack of political consensus;

Listen to Bennett in Spain here:

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What is The Spain Report?

Independent reporting and analysis of the most important stories changing the country,
written by Matthew Bennett, a British journalist who has been living and working in Spain for most of the past 20 years.
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